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Activities director reports strong participation, bleacher-captain program and small uptick in fee-assistance requests
Summary
Activities Director John Mahal told the board Oct. 27 participation is up across seasons, family engagement surveys returned high satisfaction rates, and programming (Bleacher Captains, coach professional development, captains training) continues. Mahal said about 8–10 more families requested financial assistance this fall than in prior years.
John Mahal, the district’s activities director, presented a year-in-review of the activities department and priorities for 2025–26 during the Oct. 27 meeting.
Mahal said family engagement survey results indicate 88% of respondents were pleased with activities and 87% of participants felt connected through sports or activities. He highlighted the Bleacher Captains student-leadership program, coach professional development (a summer session with the Mentally Strong Institute) and captains training that provides leadership skill-building for seasonal team captains.
Mahal showed participation-rate trends that he described as "very solid" across fall registrations and early winter sign-ups. The director said some programs (cheer, robotics, FFA and others) are recorded differently depending on whether they are run through community education or school programs and acknowledged gaps in capturing every community-based activity.
On activity fees, Mahal reported an anecdotal uptick: "we probably had a handful, 8 to 10 families, request some type of financial assistance this year," up from roughly three to four per season in his early years in the role. The district’s process is to ask families to complete the free/reduced meal form to assess eligibility and provide fee waivers or scholarships as needed, he said.
Board members asked about improving participation-data capture for programs not listed on the participation slides and about continuing to use State High School League grants to underwrite training and speaker costs.
"Anybody that has come in that needs any financial assistance, we have provided that, and everyone has been able to participate," Mahal said.
The board did not take formal action on the activities report; Mahal answered questions and the board thanked him for the presentation.
